Can the fish survive a couple of days without food?

[cyberfysh]

I'm planning a short break in the near future, and I'm wondering how my SP fingerlings will go without daily feeding.

Any advice on how to prepare and sustain them for a couple of days?

Thanks (and sorry if this has been dealt with already - I skimmed the forum and didn't find the topic).

[fishfood]

Hi with the cooler weather your silvers wont be eating much now so you can easily leave them a few days at the moment i only feed my silvers once a week

[Castaway]

Fish are different from dogs and cats and pets that need feeding every day. More people kill fish from overfeeding than underfeeding. They are very efficient at preserving their energy. If you don't feed them they will simply slow down their movements. Certainly leave them for a few days and have a great holiday. Make sure they have plenty of air going into the system while you are away and when you get back - they will still be all there - smiling at you.

[Dufflight]

How big are they. The smaller they are the more regular feeds they need. My large silver can go without food for ages, especially in cooler weather. But the new fingerlings need it more regular until they put on a little size. If your worried you can get 7 day feed blocks from aquarium shops.

[cyberfysh]

Thanks for the advice!

The fingerlings are very small, about 4-5 cm long; and they'll be 60 hrs at most between feeds.

Having read somewhere in this forum that they like lettuce, I dropped a leaf in before I went to work this morning, but when I came home they hadn't eaten any of it, as far as I could see. Maybe they didn't recognise it as food, or maybe they're just too small?

Anyway, I'm taking courage from FF & Castaway, and something in one of the AP newsletters I downloaded last night that said a day without food was more likely to do good than harm (or words to that effect) ... we'll see how it goes!